


To The Illusive Man

by MadgefromGelert



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-04-19 23:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14248551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadgefromGelert/pseuds/MadgefromGelert
Summary: Miranda's reports to the Illusive Man from the Normandy, during the preparation for the attack on the Collectors. Found in the Archives of the Shadow Broker after the Reapers were defeated.





	1. The Citadel, and Omega

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the records of the Shadow Broker

Report #3  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson  
Mission Report: 

We have left the Citadel now. Despite my previous concerns it seems that this might have been an adequate first option. I still believe we should have recruited the salarian Doctor as soon as possible, however, that it is not the point.  
The mission was a success. Shepard found the advertisement stand, which was the the rendezvous with Kasumi Goto, without a problem. She seems to have made a good impression on the thief, as she deigned to reveal herself to us, instead of lurking in the shadows and communicating through the stand. I have to inquire if keeping Cerberus’ deal with Miss Goto from Shepard was the best choice. She already mistrusts us, and it makes us seem disorganized to those we recruit if she is unaware of things like this. I also have some concerns about recruiting Kasumi Goto. Though I’m sure she is talented, I’m unsure if we need those talents aboard the Normandy.  
After parting ways with Miss Goto, we entered the Ward. We were held up briefly by Shepard’s status, declared legally dead, but the C-Sec Captain was more than helpful at cutting through the red tape and restoring her in the systems. Shepard was bound and determined to see Councillor Anderson (re his message). Their relationship seems as close as ever, despite the circumstances, and though he didn’t share any classified intel. The rest of the Council was dismissive. I was impressed by how evenly Shepard dealt with them. I believe she knew their promises were empty, but she still was polite and calm, and refused to rise in the face of their anger. In the end they agreed to reinstate her as a Spectre. Ambassador Udina came in at the end of the meeting. He and Anderson obviously dislike each other. Udina is a consummate politician, and probably resents being passed over as Councillor. Cerberus might be able to use that if Anderson continues to prove intractable.  
The Normandy is now headed to Omega to recruit Dr. Mordin Solus, Archangel and Zaeed Massani. Joker and EDI continue to argue over control of the ship, however the pilot seems more resigned to sharing with an AI even if he dislikes it. The rest of the crew seem to be in fine spirits, despite the parameters of the mission. Having Shepard as their Commander is quite the morale boost. Overall things seem to be starting off on the right foot, though time will tell if it continues to do so.  
Please inform me if you have any concerns.

Operative Lawson

Report #4  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson  
Mission Report:

Omega remains a horrible pit of a place. Upon arrival Shepard took Kasumi Goto and Jacob out with her. She said she wanted me to guard the ship from the nasty characters that live here, but I’m inclined to disbelieve her. I can tell she doesn’t trust me. We’ve talked a few times, but still maintains a distance between us. She seems to want to try and get to know her crew, but she’s withholding her trust. In short her goals are momentarily aligned with Cerberus, but her principles and prejudices might cause her to start trouble.  
That being said, we had another successful mission. As soon as Shepard boarded the station, the “leader” of Omega demanded her presence. The mercenary you recruited, Zaeed Massani, was also waiting for her nearby. Somewhat surprisingly Shepard was able to control herself while he assaulted his prisoner, considering how highly she regards respect for life. Again she was blindsided when he wanted to discuss the arrangement that Cerberus had made with him in return for his assistance. If you have made any more if these deals, I highly recommend that you inform her of them. I believe I’ve told you my reasons (re the recruitment of Kasumi Goto). Zaeed and Shepard came to an arrangement and he is now stationed on the Normandy.  
The meeting with Aria T’Loak seemed to go alright. The asari provided Shepard with some information and we weren’t chased off the station. The salarian doctor was combatting a plague in one of the districts. It was remarkable in the way that it was contagious to all species except humans and vorcha. Humans were being blamed for it, and were being attacked by the aliens. Meanwhile the vorcha were making a push to claim the district. It was clear who was behind the disease, the victims were just too blinded by prejudice to see it. After fighting their way to the clinic that Mordin Solus was based at, Shepard asked him to join our crew. He agreed as long as Shepard helped him to stop the plague. He had already developed a cure, and lacked only the resources to deploy it. She was happy to assist, and with few complications the vorcha were beaten back and the cure was released. Mordin kept his word and has acclimatized to the Normandy extremely well. He seems delighted to have a fully functioning lab. It’s worth mentioning that Doctor Solus suspects the Collectors of manufacturing the plague and telling the vorcha how to use it. Clearly their plans involve more than just abducting human colonists. Shepard is planning spending the night on the ship, before returning to Omaga to find Archangel. She learned from Aria that he is in some sort of trouble with the local merc gangs. I will send another update on the completion of the mission.

Operative Lawson

Report #5  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson  
Mission Report:

Shepard once again decided to leave me behind to guard the ship, electing instead to bring along Mordin Solus, who would be better off in the lab trying to find out how to block the Collector’s Seeker Swarms. This time she claimed she wanted to test the combat skills of her squamates, but she took Kasumi with her again, instead of the untried Zaeed. Although now that I think about it, Zaeed and his grudge would be well known to the Blue Suns, so maybe it makes sense in that regard.  
Yesterday we learned from Aria T’Loak that the merc gangs on Omega had ganged up against the turian known as Archangel. She advised we infiltrate their ranks as freelancers. Shepard took her advice and managed to work her way to the no man’s land area in front of the hideout, collecting valuable information and preforming several acts of sabotage. Shepard, Mordin, and Kasumi participated in the charge against Archangel, making it into his sanctum, before turning on the mercs who charged with them. After cleaning out the nest, they went to talk to the turian, and discovered his true identity. Garrus Vakarian, Shepard’s former crew member on the original Normandy. From all accounts Shepard was ecstatic at this revelation. The four repelled attacks from the Eclipse, and the Blood Pack, before the Blue Suns mounted a heavy attack. Archangel took a rocket almost to the face.  
Shepard managed to defeat them, and rushed Vakarian to the Normandy med bay, where he is still being operated on by Doctor Chakwas. It is uncertain at this time whether or not he will be able to take part in our mission, though the Doctor assures us that he will live. Shepard is currently pacing by the door, waiting for news. It is obvious she has affection for him. Though the revelation of his true identity may be valuable in keeping Shepard comfortable, I am unsure if it is a good thing. There is a tenuous balance on the ship between Cerberus and Shepard. I’m hoping Garrus’ addition won’t shift it too much.  
On the unlikely event that he makes a full recovery, he will make a valuable addition to the crew. Archangel managed to hold off three merc groups, by himself, for over a week. However, if he can’t join the rest of us in the field, what should we do with him? Shepard will undoubtably want to keep him around, but if you think it better I can manipulate him into leaving.  
The crew members we picked up earlier seem to be comfortable in their new surroundings. Jacob keeps busy in the armoury, Mordin, the same in the lab. Zaeed entertains everybody with outrageous stories, and I’m pretty sure Kasumi is raiding personnel lockers. We are an unlikely group, but things are going alright so far, minus the unfortunate incident with Archangel.  
Let me know how you want that situation resolved. Our next stop is to pick up Subject Zero from the prison ship Purgatory. I’ll contact you at the conclusion of that mission.

Operative Lawson


	2. Purgatory and Korlus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Shepard continues to recruit for her mission, Miranda updates the Illusive Man on the highs and lows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the records of the Shadow Broker

Report #7  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson

I’m sorry. You know I believe in you and Cerberus, but whatever possessed you to think that recruiting Jack was a good idea? She’s seriously unstable, hates Cerberus and has destructive tendencies. I know I’m getting ahead of myself. But she was just in my office and dealing with her…

Message Deleted

The recruitment of Jack was ultimately a success, even though nothing went according to plan. We reached the prison ship Purgatory, and docked with no issues. Shepard finally allowed me to accompany her off the ship. We’ve talked a few more times since Omega. I admit there is something about her that draws people in, makes them want to bare their souls. It’s probably what makes her such an effective leader. She also brought along Garrus who (re Report #6) has continued to recover at a frankly unbelievable rate. It’s amazing that he can stand, let alone participate in a mission. He assures us that he is ready, and this mission proved it, though there wasn’t supposed to be any conflict.

We were greeted by several guards who wished to disarm us, we refused and things became rather tense. Warden Kuril arrived and defused the situation, he assured us that things would proceed smoothly. He told us where to go and left us, citing a few last minute details that needed to be taken care of. Shepard proceeded to follow his instructions at her regular pace, by which I mean she had conversations with guards, stopped them from beating up a murderer, and talked with a different one. We finally made it to where we were supposed to get Jack, only to find we had been betrayed. At this point none of us were very surprised. Kuril wanted to sell Shepard, I’m not sure to who, but it was a minor inconvenience. We fought our way to the proper location to release Jack. I have to say, we were all surprised when Jack aka Subject Zero was a young woman. A young, barely dressed woman. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.

Immediately after being freed from cryo sleep Jack proceeded to destroy the ship. This was a major inconvenience. Prisoners were freed and they started shooting at everything that moved, which the guards were already doing. Needless to say it was difficult to fight our way back to the Normandy, but we did manage to do so. We killed Warden Kuril on the way. Shepard does have a very strategic mind when it comes to combat. The methods Kuril used, shield towers and the like, she targeted and destroyed, making him an easy target.

Jack had reached the Normandy before us and was having a temper tantrum. Shepard made her offer, but

Jack refused to work for Cerberus. Shepard managed to talk her into joining by saying that though we “worked for Cerberus” she “wasn’t a part of it,” and then proceeded to promise to give Jack access to classified Cerberus files. I would have approved if she’d stopped at the promise, but once we were onboard and safely away she actually gave the her access. Jack is troublesome. She hates Cerberus, is a total psychopath, and is hardly the type to be a team player.

I’m still concerned about the divide among the crew. While Mordin is content to tinker in the lab, and Kasumi and Zaeed are loyal to the one who pays them, Garrus is completely loyal to Shepard and Jack is extremely against Cerberus. Jacob is hovering in the middle, his loyalty to our organization and to myself is conflicting with his respect and near worship of Shepard. A few weeks ago I would never have thought that he would waver, but that was before I met the force that is Shepard. She continues to disdain Cerberus, and refuses to believe in our values, short of stopping the attacks on our colonies. Her charisma, and interest in other people makes her someone who can change people’s minds, even about things that they hold dear. If she ever decides to split with Cerberus, EDI and I could find ourselves fighting off almost everyone else for control of the ship. I may be overreacting, it will probably never come to that, but if it does I hope that you have a plan ready.

We are going to recruit Warlord Okeer next. I’m hoping that he won’t add to our problems, but seeing as he’s a krogan, my expectations are not high.

I will keep you appraised of any new situations

Operative Lawson

Report #8  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that none of our missions go according to plan. We landed the shuttle at the Blue Sun’s base on Korlus, where our intel placed Warlord Okeer. Shepard brought Garrus with her, unsurprisingly, and also decided to take Jack for a walk, put her hostility to good use. The mercs already seemed to be in an uproar before she made her push. They soon found out the Okeer was cloning a krogan army and that his rejects, for whatever he was trying to make, were running amok and killing them.  
Shepard, though I admit she is a force on the battlefield, has a merciful nature. She was shaken by an encounter with one of the clones who, despite viciously attacking the mercs, stopped long enough to help her, then stayed behind, accepting his fate to die. I don’t know how she expects to lead a suicide mission with such a soft heart. But I’ve gotten off track.

They finally fought their way to the Warlord, through rampaging krogan and mercs. Okeer agreed to join our mission, on the condition that we would also take his “perfect specimen”, a clone still in it’s tank, along with us. Before the details could be worked out, the leader of the mercs, decided to end Okeer’s complication. She started to flush the tank that held his specimen. Shepard went to stop her, while Okeer worked to save the tank bred.

Once the mercenaries were eradicated, Shepard returned to Okeer, only to discover that he was dead. In order to save the specimen in the tank, he had to syphon poisonous gas into the room with him. He left a message requesting that Shepard take the tank. It’s currently sitting in the port cargo area. The tank itself, as well as the krogan inside it, were made with the materials that Okeer had received from the Collectors. I believe that waking him up isn’t the safest course of action, but Shepard thinks that he could be a valuable asset. She intends to open the tanks. I’m planning on telling the crew to be on guard, just in case he goes on a uncontrollable rampage.

The crew still seems relatively content, with the exception of Jack, who I doubt would know contentedness if it smacked her in the face. Garrus’ presence has seemed to put Shepard more at ease. She’s more relaxed and smiles more often. I believe Tali’s rejection of her on Freedom’s Progress really affected her. Having Garrus accept her and join us, seems to have made her more at peace with her decision to work with Cerberus. There are also relationships developing among the crew. Zaeed and Garrus enjoy telling war stories, and Kasumi keeps trying to talk to Jacob, then vanishing, much to his surprise.

I understand there’s something big happening. I’ll stand by if you need to tell me something that you can’t tell Shepard.

Operative Lawson

Report #9  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson

Just an update on the tank bred krogan. Shepard successfully woke him. He then, predictably, attacked her. After a brief standoff he agreed to joint our mission. After which Shepard showed him that she had the upper hand on him the whole time. I believe she earned his respect for that. He decided to go by Grunt, as it was one of Okeer’s last words. He seems very strong, and fairly reasonable, for a krogan. I have to admit that Shepard may have been right, he could be a valuable asset.

Operative Lawson


	3. Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miranda's report on the events of the Collector attack on Horizon and how Shepard repelled it

Report #10  
To: The Illusive Man  
From: Operative Miranda Lawson  


Though I am not sure if Shepard would consider that mission a success, I believe that Cerberus would, as we collected a fair amount of information on our enemy. When we landed on Horizon, the Collectors had already begun making their way through the colony, gathering up all the people in their path.  


Shepard elected to take Garrus with her (no surprise there), but also Dr. Solus. She claimed that if something went wrong with his protection measure, it would be better if he was with her to fix it. Despite my protests that he would be unable to fix anything or help us in the future if he was dead or captured, she brought him along anyway. Luckily his defence against the Seeker Swarms worked so we didn’t have to find a new scientist.  


At first they encountered no sign of anyone, Collector or human, but about halfway through the settlement they found some type of transportation pod. Though that one was empty there were others that were full. Next they found people, immobile due to the Swarms. Shepard no doubt wanted to waste time trying to help, but they pressed on. Shortly after that, they discovered the first Collectors, which they dispatched fairly easily, despite the powerful weapons and defence shields the aliens possessed.  


They continued like that for a time, then, after a few battles, Shepard noticed that there seemed to be an outside force overtaking the bug like creatures. One would suddenly hover for a few seconds with a strange aura, then when it came back to the ground its attacks were incredibly powerful, ripping through shields and causing massive damage. It taunted Shepard, and if it was killed before the rest of them were, another would go through the same change. She took to calling it ‘Harbinger’, as it would apparently often say, “I am the Harbinger of your perfection,” “I am the Harbinger of your ascendance,” and “I am Harbinger.” It’s a little obvious perhaps, but it works as well as any I suppose. It seems that Harbinger, whether it’s the commander of the Collectors or something more, can control the lesser varieties of the species. We should look into whether or not that can be blocked.  


Eventually Shepard and the others encountered a survivor, who had sealed himself off when he saw the swarms. He was able to supply them with some information, including a way to destroy the Collector ship. The Alliance was in the process of installing some GARDIAN turrets, which just needed some adjusting to work. When Shepard reached the turret control, EDI began the process of fixing them, while the Commander held her position. They were attacked by Collectors as well as husks, which solidifies the connection to the Reapers, and a few creatures that no one has ever seen before. Something that looked like several husks mashed together with a large cannon that we’ve been calling a Scion, and a massive, flying, armoured bug, like the Collectors but with less humanish qualities, that also possessed powerful weaponry, which we’ve named Praetorian.  


Finally EDI was able to get the turrets firing at the Collector ship. They did some damage, but before it was destroyed it took off. About half of the colonists were taken, but that’s still half saved. Even so, I could tell Shepard was disappointed with the outcome. There was one last surprise, however, before we left the planet. Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko was the Alliance representative on Horizon. His appearance shook Shepard, especially considering how much he distrusted her and Cerberus. Like the quarian, Tali’Zorah, he refused her offer to join us, saying that he was loyal to the Alliance, and suggesting that Cerberus was behind the attacks on the colonies. I don’t think that she believed his claims, but I feel that it warrants some more careful observations, to make sure that she doesn’t do anything foolish.  


After parting ways with Alenko, Shepard and the other two returned to the Normandy and we left the planet. Despite Shepard’s dark mood, most of the crew seems decently happy with the outcome. Dr. Solus is overjoyed that his counter measure worked. Though there are some who see the mission as a failure, the same way Shepard does, they are the minority. We’re refocusing now on the recruitment of the other people in the dossiers you sent.  


I understand that you’ve already debriefed with Shepard, but hopefully this provides you with a clearer picture. Also I’ve been told that you knew that Alenko was on Horizon. If that’s true, I’m curious why you didn’t tell me. I’m the one holding onto Shepard’s leash for you, it makes no sense not to inform me of things that could make my job harder.  


Operative Lawson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I went travelling for a while and didn't have the brainpower to work on it. Hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> The first in a series showing Miranda's views on Shepard and their mission.


End file.
